“I moved away from the only home I’d ever known last month,” he said. “I’m originally from San Francisco. Orangevale is . . . well, it’s certainly not the Mission. And I feel left out most days.” He paused, took another breath. “I don’t think I belong here.”

Juliana reached out and took his left hand. “I’m sorry,” she said. “That’s gotta suck.”

“Yeah,” he said, trying so very hard to get past the terrible awkwardness blooming in his stomach. “So I needed . . . I don’t know. A place to be alone. To hide. To think about everything.”

“So . . . is it bad that we’re here?” Sal’s face crinkled up. “Should we leave?”

Héctor bolted upright. “No!” He shouted the words. “Please, don’t leave. This is . . . this is the longest conversation I’ve had with someone who wasn’t a teacher since I got to this school.”

He didn’t speak the thought that ran through his head:

And I need you.

“Well, we’re not going anywhere,” said Juliana. “Except school. I can’t miss school, or my mama will be real mad. But . . . I want to be here, too.”

“So do I,” said Sal, smiling.

Héctor’s heart warmed at that, but his stomach twisted up in doubt at the feeling, too. He resisted the urge to shoot the kindness down. “So . . . now what?”

The three of them exchanged looks with one another.

Juliana broke the silence by clearing her throat. “Just a question for y’all,” she said. “I have a friend at my school, and she is worried. About a secret she has possibly getting out.”

“What kind of secret?” Sal asked.

“Well, that’s not important,” Juliana said quickly. Too quickly, Héctor thought, but he didn’t call her on it. “My friend doesn’t think there’s a way to stop the secret from coming out. Not that it’s a bad secret!”

“I’m a little lost,” said Sal, scratching their head. “So the secret isn’t bad but it’s still going to get out?”

“Well, my friend—who is definitely not me—is just worried about what might happen after.”

“Are people going to be mad at this friend?” Héctor asked.

“I don’t think so,” said Juliana, twisting up her face as she thought about it. “I think they’ll be supportive of her. It’s just scary.”

“But once it’s over, it won’t be so scary, right?” Sal said.

She sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’ll tell her what you said.”

Héctor was now certain that Juliana was talking about herself, and he wondered what she was actually talking about. Why did it make her so nervous? Was it really that bad?